BNA - Guild News

Jan. 14 , 2003

Job Security: BNA Can Do More to Preserve Jobs

BNA has yet to formally respond to the Guild’s Job Security proposal, which seeks to reduce or eliminate involuntary layoffs during the term of the contract.

Under the Guild’s proposal, a layoff moratorium would take effect, during which employees whose positions are subject to RIF would be assigned other work for which they qualify, including work now being performed by temporary employees, agency hires, or contractors.

The company has the ability and resources to keep people working rather than resort to lay offs. A number of other progressive, and highly profitable, companies (the list includes Southwest Airlines, Harley Davidson, FedEx, Fannie Mae, AFLAC, and Nucor Steel) have taken a similar stance: protect the jobs of the workers who make the company what it is. Maintaining employees even in rough times builds real loyalty, and higher productivity, and employees aren’t afraid to innovate, knowing their jobs are safe.

BNA representatives argued that only a small number of employees “who wanted to stay at BNA” have not been placed, and that “those who are let go” have generous severance. The fact is that none of the 33 employees laid off over the past three years wanted to leave BNA. All were forced to consider— and struggle through— the reality that BNA was laying them off and separating them from their livelihood. BNA calls it “operating efficiencies”.

Of the 33 whose lives were disrupted, 6 had over 20 years of service (including a 54 year old G8 with 35 years of service, a 46 year old G7 with 24 years of service, a G9 with 22 years of service, and a G5 with 24 years of service. Each of these laid off employees were minorities, but non-minorities have also gotten the axe. In early 1998 a pregnant Guild unit member was laid off (though she was the most senior employee in the unit). A five-year employee was laid off during her maternity leave in 2001. And, a 14-year G3 was laid off during her probationary period on a new job. About 26 other employees were affected by layoff during the term of the contract. About 5 were placed in other jobs, the rest are gone. BNA calls their right to handle RIFs in this way “flexibility”.

Did the Guild work to negotiate the best possible severance for these employees? Of course. And BNA was often helpful, sometimes not. But job loss is job loss, and each of these employees could surely have been given the option to stay on with the company to perform work for which they were qualified—work that exists because some employees have had work load increased substantially over the years, work that exists that is being performed by contractors, temporary hires, or agency workers, and so forth. Now THAT is flexibility—flexibility that respects the workers who built this company.

The Guild acknowledges, as BNA stated at the table, that the company has the right to lay off employees. And that employees may only bump to positions that still exist which they may have previously performed satisfactorily.

But BNA, through good times and not so good (and last year was “among BNA’s best”) can and should do more to keep all its employees working.

The Guild’s Proposal

1. Moratorium on Layoffs. An employee subject to a RIF will during the term of the contract:

• be used to perform work for which she or he qualifies in any department of the Company, and will be assigned such work prior to the use of temporary or call-in employees;
• continue to be compensated at her or his grade and step, and
• retain the option to voluntarily resign at any time while in surplus status, and receive severance pay

2. Seek voluntary resignations company wide before involuntary lay offs:

• First, offer any employee in the department in the job title being rif’d the opportunity to take voluntary resignation (and severance pay) BEFORE involuntary laying off of anyone.
• Then offer any employee in the company in the job title being rif’d the opportunity to take voluntary resignation (with severance) BEFORE involuntarily laying off anyone.

3. Six months outplacement services to employees actually RIF’d.

4. Strengthen training opportunities for employees subject to technological-change RIFs.

-- Your Bargaining Committee

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